


Call of the Sea

by ggtwrites (thewritingsofahydrangea)



Series: Magical SF9 [1]
Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Selkie!Dawon, Selkies, magical au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 06:08:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16717845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewritingsofahydrangea/pseuds/ggtwrites
Summary: A selkie is a magical creature said to be able to shapeshift between the forms of a seal and a human.





	Call of the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I'd try cross-posting some of my fics from tumblr over to here, and I decided to post this one first because it has a special place in my heart, I really like how it turned out and it was my first attempt at really writing angst for a fic. I hope if you read it that you enjoy it!

Today was going to be a day of relaxation. You had hauled all your beach gear down from your hotel room, carefully arranging it into the perfect set up. With your chair positioned under your umbrella and a soft sea breeze cooling the warm air, everything felt perfect.

However, just as you were opening your book, settled comfortably into your chair, a strong gust of wind blew down the beach, taking your hat with it. “Hey!” You yelled indignantly, scrambling up to chase after it.

You ran, praying desperately that it wouldn’t land in the water. As you were chasing after your runaway hat, you saw it angling towards the ocean. Unfortunately, you didn’t have the speed to catch it before it reached the water. Fortunately, there was someone along the beach who was close enough to catch it.

With a deft arm movement your hat was in the hands of stranger. His back was turned to you, so all you could see was what looked to be a leather jacket, but it was gray dappled with black spots. As he turned towards you, you were greeted by the sight of a handsome man with curly black hair. Your eyes met his and he smiled. His smile seemed warm, but there was look in his eyes that promised mischief.

“Is this yours?” He asked as you jogged up next to him. You nodded and he placed it carefully on your head. “You’d better keep a hand on it, the winds around here can get pretty intense.”

You laughed, “Yeah, it would certainly seem so. You must come here often to know that.”

The stranger shrugged, a small smile on his face. “I do come around the area now and then.”

“Well,” you said, your hand on the brim of your hat to keep it from blowing away again, “thank you for saving my hat, I would’ve been sad to see it lost in the waves.”

“It was no problem, I was happy to help a damsel in distress.” While normally a term like that would have annoyed you, there was something about the way he said it that made it seem like a joke, and you were beginning to realize that the twinkle in his eyes was very alluring.

“I’m Dawon,” he said as he stuck his hand out, “it’s nice to meet you, and save your hat of course.” As you shook his hand you told him your name. He repeated it, his lips curving up into another wonderful smile as he spoke it.

As your hand fell back down to your side you added, “It’s nice to meet you too, I haven’t seen many people around here, it’s nice to find someone to chat with.”

His smile widened, “You’re right, about there not being many people around. It’s a pleasant surprise for me to meet such a pleasant person here on the beach.” You looked down, not sure how to take his words, but he simply continued to talk. “So what brings you here? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. If you don’t mind me asking of course.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind saying,” you said with a shrug, “I wanted to have some time to get away from my usual life and I decided that this was the place to do it. How about you?”

Dawon shrugged his shoulders, just like you had moments before. “I enjoy coming here every now and then, it’s easy to get to and a peaceful place to think.”

“Oh, I see!” You said with a nod. “It does seem like a good place for some peace, at least for me, the sounds of the beach, especially the waves, are very relaxing.”

Although you weren’t exactly sure why, this statement seemed to please Dawon, as his face lit up with a bright smile. “I’m glad you think so, it’s nice to find someone who feels like I do about the beach.”

“It sounds like you really enjoy the beach.” You commented.

With a laughed he said, “Yeah you could say that, but I like the ocean even more.”

You raised an eyebrow, intrigued by his statement. “What do you mean?”

“Without the ocean, I couldn’t enjoy the beach the way I do. It’s the crash of the waves, the smell of the salt in the air, the feel of the cool water on my feet that makes me enjoy the beach, and all of that comes from the ocean.” As Dawon explained he looked out towards the ocean, a far off look in his eyes.

But like flipping a switch his focus was back on you, a twinkle in his eyes. “Hey, want me to teach you to skip stones so well it looks like magic?”

Your eyes lit up with interest and you nodded. “Yeah, that’d be great! I’ve never had a chance to learn how to, and looking like magic sounds pretty cool.”

As it turned out, Dawon was a good teacher, and you picked up stone skipping quickly. Soon you were skipping stones eight or nine times before they sunk below the waves. He was even better though, with one particularly well shaped rock he was able to skip it fifteen times. There was something magical in the way he skipped the rocks, the way they skimmed perfectly over the waves.

After you’d both had your fill of rock skipping, the two of you took a break in the shade of your beach umbrella. As you settled onto your blanket, Dawon doing the same, you turned to him. “Aren’t you hot wearing a jacket like that in the summer?” You asked with a curious tilt of your head.

“No, this jacket is like a second skin to me, I’d feel odd without it.” He smirked as if something in what he had said was amusing. “But that doesn’t matter, let’s talk about how great a teacher I am when it comes to rock skipping.”

You laughed lightly, nodding your head in agreement. “Yeah, you are pretty great.”

“Pretty great?” He huffed, “that’s it?” Dawon looked at you with a pout, but you could tell from his eyes that this was just a joke.

Tapping your chin you pretended to think. “Hmm, I suppose I could say you did excellent. Would that be good enough to satisfy Mr. High Maintenance?”

The look of mock indignation on his face made you double over with laughter. “I’ll have you know I am not high maintenance. Stop laughing it’s true.” But you couldn’t stop laughing, even as he continued, “In fact, I might even say I’m low maintenance.”

But with you laughing the way you were, he couldn’t keep up his act and soon he was laughing just as much as you were. His laugh, his smile, both were so wonderful to you. The wind blowing your hat to him had truly been a blessing.

\---

Over the next few days you got to know Dawon better, but there was always a part of him that felt so distant. However, he answered many questions that you asked him, and you grew to love his teasing and silliness. The two of you grew close, and it felt so natural that when he asked if he could hold your hand you agreed without hesitation.

There was something about him that just felt right, and you wished your time with him could last forever. As you walked down the beach, your hand in his, a question occurred to you. “Is Dawon really your name?”

“No.” He responded with sparkling eyes and a mischievous smile. “You like asking questions, don’t you, Y/N?”

You shrugged. “Not always, but you’re a mystery to me, and I want to know more about you.”

The sincerity in your words seemed to shock your curly haired companion. He stopped and turned to you, a look you couldn’t describe in his eyes. “You’re quite the person, you know.”

“As it happens, I do know,” you said with a giggle.

“Good. It would be a shame if you didn’t know, you truly are something special.” He bumped his shoulder against yours as he smiled down at you. This smile had more warmth than any you’d seen before, and despite all his teasing it felt like he truly meant what he said this time.

Without even noticing the two of you had paused. As you gazed up at Dawon, you became lost in the depth of his eyes, the dark browns swirling around his pupils tugging at your heart. There was a warmth in his eyes, and beneath all the mischief you knew there was sincerity. But there was also something else in his eyes that you couldn’t put a name to.

“Hey,” he said quietly, letting go of your hands as he reached out to brush your windswept hair out of your face, “can I kiss you?” There was no longer any mischief in his eyes, and the warmth was being overtaken by an intensity that made it hard for you to breathe.

Caught up in his eyes all you could do was nod, your whole body filling with warmth as he leaned towards you, one hand gently lifting your chin as his lips met yours. He tasted like the sea in a way that was strange and yet enticing. As his soft lips brushed against yours your whole body felt alive.

You found yourself clutching the front of his shirt for support. It felt like you were being overwhelmed, Dawon’s presence was like a wave crashing all around you as he kissed you softly. And then, it was over. He pulled away from you, his hand dropping to his side and your hands let go of his shirt.

The two of you simply stood there, staring at each other with wide eyes, unable to say a word. He regained his composure first and with a laugh he said, “Wow,” which summed up your feelings as well. All you could do was nod, your mouth hanging open.

You felt his fingers on your chin as Dawon closed your mouth, a smirk now on his face. A shiver went down your spine as his fingers brushed against your chin as he pulled them away. Your eyes were still wide as you tried to manage coherent thought, but you weren’t able to.

“No questions for me now, huh?” He asked jokingly. “Maybe I should kiss you more often then.”

Spluttering indignantly you were finally able to speak again. “Hey!”

Dawon laughed as he leaned forward and kissed your forehead. “I’m kidding, sweetheart. You know I love your questions.”

You huffed and turned away, but when his hand reached out for yours, you let him take it. Turning around you were faced with a warm smile from him, his eyes soft as he gazed at you. You smiled back, giving his hand a squeeze and the two of you continued your walk down the beach.

**\-----**

**Seven Years Later**

Shaking off the sea water that still clung to his hair after the transformation, Sanghyuk made his way up the beach that had become etched into his mind. The years had passed so achingly slow, but finally he was back.

If he had known the way the tides of oceans and the magic in his veins would prevent him from stepping on these sands until now, would he have gotten as close to Y/N as he had? Yes, without a second thought. Over the years he had treasured his memories with her like precious pearls.

He knew it was a long shot to even try and find her again, but there was a small part of him that held onto hope. Even though Sanghyuk never had the courage to tell her, he had truly loved her. He had loved her beautiful eyes, her curiosity, the softness of her features when she was surprised, and more than anything, the way she made him feel at home.

The idea of feeling at home out of the ocean had both excited and scared him, but he had embraced the feeling, enjoying every moment with the girl that had captured his heart. However, Sanghyuk was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of laughter further down the beach.

Turning his head towards the sound his heart lurched as another person laughed, and this laughter sounded like a distant dream. As he spotted the source of the laughter his heart stopped, and he felt like he was being stabbed in the heart.

They were too far away to be seen clearly, but he felt in his bones that one of those of those people was Y/N, and she was holding hands with the other person. The two were heading towards Sanghyuk, and although he remembered her very clearly, worry that she would see him as stranger spurred him to hide behind a nearby outcropping of rocks.

He had wanted to see her again, but this was far too soon for him.  Waiting for them to pass felt like an eternity, and the urge to run back to the ocean and lose himself in the waves was hard to suppress. As they drew close enough for him to hear them talking, he knew without a doubt that it was Y/N, her soft voice so similar to that he had heard all those years ago.

“This brings back memories,” she said with a sigh, and he found himself hanging on her every word.

“Oh?” Her companion asked, “Have you been here before? I thought you weren’t one for beach trips.”

Her voice was wistful as she replied, “I used to love this place. I met an incredible person here. But I only saw him one summer, and then he disappeared without a word. I thought I would see him again, but when I didn’t, this place was hard to come back to, and beaches still make me think of him.”

With a jolt, Sanghyuk realized that it sounded like she was talking about him, and the sadness in her voice as she continued filled him with regret. “Dawon was special, I’d never met someone like that before, and I think, over time, I could have come to love him. I truly cared for him. But that’s in the past.”

He’d almost forgotten the name he’d given her, not having used that name since he had told it to Y/N. It had sounded so special coming from her that he couldn’t bear to hear it used by someone else. He had often wondered how his real name would have sounded spoken from her lips, but the time had never seemed right to tell her.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Y/N,” her companion said, “but hey, now you have me.”

Y/N laughed, but it was hard to enjoy it with how he felt at that moment. “You’re right, and I’m so glad to have you in my life.” She sounded so happy, and it hurt him in a way he didn’t think possible. He knew deep down that it was unfair of him to expect her to wait for him, and she deserved happiness, but knowing this didn’t heal the cracks forming on his heart.

As the couple continued past him their conversation moved on, but Sanghyuk couldn’t move from where he was standing. His legs became weak and he sat down in the sand, his arms circling his knees as his chin rested on top of them. Tears streamed down his face as he curled in on himself.

He never should have come back. It would have been far better if he had simply stayed away forever, thinking of her fondly. But now all his memories of her were tainted by pain. She still remembered him, but she had moved on. Even knowing that she had cared for him didn’t help.

Finally able to stand he made his way back towards the ocean. He waded in until the water was up to his knees, standing in front of a drop off. Closing his eyes he sighed and let his body fall into the ocean, the embrace of the cold salt water welcoming him into its depth. As his body sank beneath the wave his skin began to ripple and he was surrounded by bubbles.

Soon in the place of the man with curly hair was a seal, its gray body dappled with black. Although he was in the ocean where he felt most at home, Sanghyuk felt lost. It was like he had lost a part of himself, and he knew he would never be able to become human again.


End file.
